We’re off to the Brighton Fringe Festival in the London to Brighton Mini Run! Combining two iconic Brighton events, A Mini Wedding is kindly sponsoring i leave my mark in the much loved annual event on Sunday 15th May. We’ll be arriving in style in the best mini in town, a baby blue stretch convertible, suitably called ‘Stretch’. Look out for us on Hove Seafront at 2.00pm, opposite the beach hut where we will be collecting fingerprints all day. Hope to see you there for family fun and pure Fringe indulgence in leaving your mark on the Fringe!

Donate, Create and Make a Difference this Fringe. Every weekend for the Fringe, 7th-29th May Hove Beach Huts, 11-5 with The Collection at The Basement on 29th.

A special thanks to Simon Ross at A Mini Wedding for your generosity in sponsoring i leave my mark in the London to Brighton Mini Run and here’s to a fun and sunny day.

Please note the number of the beach hut has changed. Thanks to four vivacious and very kind beach hut owners we will now be using 4 beach huts, one each weekend, all located near to Second Avenue. Please see the site at a later date for the numbers; but you will see us!

i leave my mark at Brighton Fringe Festival 2011

Join i leave my mark at the

We will be on the Brighton and Hove seafront every weekend in May, creating a giant child’s face from finger prints. Simply donate a £ and leave your mark. Every penny of your donation goes to charity. We will be fundraising for 6 local charities that support children by empowering them to lead a fulfilled life. Currently, these include Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice and Winston’s Wish. We will be announcing the other four Children’s charities early next week. The venue will be one of Brighton and Hove’s colorful beach huts.

The finger prints will be displayed on Sunday 29th May at The Basement, Kensington St, Brighton, so come on down and see what you’ve created to give the thumbs up as a community to getting support to children.

Why not join us and volunteer? We are looking for individuals to join the team for the events and also to help create it. Find out more about how to get involved here

i leave my mark are proud to announce the second charity for whom we will be raising donations from now until the end of the Brighton Fringe Festival.

Chestnut Tree House is the only children’s hospice in Sussex and cares for children and young adults from 0-19 years of age with progressive life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses from all over the county.

Completed in 2003, the hospice provides a ‘home from home’ environment with 10 children’s bedrooms plus 8 family rooms, a wet and dry play area, computer and music rooms, a multi sensory room and hydrotherapy pool. The house is set in beautiful gardens within an area of outstanding natural beauty.

There are potentially 400 families with life-limited children in Sussex. Chestnut Tree House offers support for the whole family including psychological support, care in bereavement therapy, end of life and respite care and sibling support.

I visited Chestnut Tree House last month and was amazed at the care, kindness and love that the children and their families that stay at the hospice receive. From the warmth of the staff to the range of facilities and versatile care, this much needed service that the hospice provides to the community is truly special.

It costs approximately £2 million per year to provide care services. Families are not charged for their care and the hospice receives hardly any government funding at all, so it relies completely on the generosity, help and support of the people of Sussex.

To raise a donation for Chestnut Tree House through the ‘Leave Your Mark on A Heart’ campaign please contact myself or Juliette Macpherson, East Sussex Community Fundraiser for Chestnut Tree House. Your heart will be displayed at the end of the Brighton Fringe Festival and reflect your support of the hospice in providing care to children who need it.

Chestnut Tree House has recently opened a brand new shop in Brighton. If you would like to Volunteer, donate items or would like any further information please contact the shop 40 London Road, Brighton, East Sussex 01273 686040.

We are looking for volunteers to join us on Hove seafront this May. As part of the Brighton Fringe Festival 2011, i leave my mark will be opening the doors of its beach hut installation every weekend to collect donations and finger prints in support of local children’s charities. We will also be providing children’s activities on the beach.

We are thrilled to announce that St Mary’s college of Crosby in Merseyside has joined the ‘Leave Your Mark on A Heart’ campaign! The schools 1100 pupils will be leaving their mark on a heart in support of child bereavement charity Winston’s Wish. Childhood bereavement affect one child in every classroom in the UK. The generosity of the school, children and their families will help the charity provide much needed help to children and young people who are trying to cope with the loss of a parent, brother or sister.

Sally Davies say’s “Winston’s Wish are delighted to hear the news that St Mary’s College are on board with the fabulous I leave my mark campaign, to have this kind of support from such a fantastic School in an area where our charity is not that well known is a real boost. We look forward to working with the teachers, staff and students very soon.”

I went to school myself in Crosby and was 16 when I lost my dad, so on a personal note I am touched by the enthusiasm and commitment of St Mary’s. It was great visit the school this week and meet the Head Teacher Michael Collins, my old school friend Naomi Clarke and Niall Martindale and Helen Watson (above). Thank you to all the children and teaching team for giving the thumbs up to i leave my mark – I am so looking forward to seeing those hearts!

Brighton based fundraiser, i leave my mark. whose first event on Boxing Day raised over £1000, is inviting groups and businesses to donate £1 and ‘leave their mark on a heart’ in support of Winston’s Wish, the leading childhood bereavement charity.

“This is a fun activity for any group of people, e.g. families, work colleagues, interest and health groups, that will raise donations to help children that need it”, says Debbie Brown. “We are inviting the Sussex Community to donate £1 and leave their mark on a heart. With the community’s support we aim to raise £3000 for the charity by the end of February”

Getting involved is easy. Send an email to info@ileavemymark.co.uk and they will send you a heart, poster, and a collection box. Simply leave your marks on a heart , donate £1, and return your heart to be part of the giant collection. Then pay in your donation online at www.justgiving.com – I Leave My Mark – and make a difference!

The hearts will be displayed at the end of the Fringe Festival in May in one of the world’s largest collections of fingerprints; a representation of our commitment as a community to the future of our children.

Speaking about the appeal Sally Davies, Regional Fundraising and Events Manager for Winston’s Wish said “We are truly grateful to the ‘i leave my mark’ team for their hard work, passion and enthusiasm in raising vital funds for Winston’s Wish – we are looking forward to seeing the fantastic display of hearts in May. With the generosity of the Sussex community we will be able to continue to support bereaved children and their families, enabling them to face the future with confidence and hope”.

For further information on the ‘Leave Your Mark On A Heart’ campaign email info@ileavemymark.co.uk.

Sometimes things work, and work well. After our launch on Boxing Day I find myself amazed at what we have achieved in such a short space of time; and with no money changing hands, every penny donated has gone directly to Winston’s Wish. Its important to acknowledge this - how every person who has volunteered and given something of themselves, has played a part in making a difference to children’s lives.

The support received from local businesses and individuals especially at such a challenging time economically is inspiring. It touches me how much support there is in the community to give children who have had something happen to them the best chance in life.

A special acknowledgement to our key local sponsors Jon Silver Photography, Segment SEO, Exhibit Printing, Designers-i, Fat Flyers and Brighton Media Centre for donating your time, passion and skills. Also to Les and Jacqui for donating their beach hut, to all the incredible volunteers, and to my dear friend Peter Lynch for his work on the project, and his three beautiful daughters who lost their mum, Sophie, last year.

Speaking about the initiative Sally Davies, Regional Fundraising and Events Manager for Winston’s Wish said “We are truly grateful to the ‘i leave my mark’ team for their hard work, passion and enthusiasm in raising vital funds for Winston’s Wish – we are looking forward to seeing the fantastic display of finger prints in May. With the generosity of the Sussex community we will be able to continue to support bereaved children and their families, enabling them to face the future with confidence and hope”.

Thank you. You were fantastic!

The i leave my mark team celebrates raising over £2000 since boxing Day for Winstons Wish and their work with bereaved children in Sussex. We aim to raise £5000 by the end of February for the charity, and we will continue to fundraise for local charities supporting children who have suffered a traumatic event. We are inviting schools, local businesses, families, friends and social groups to get involved in creating one of the worlds largest collections of fingerprints to raise money to support the future happiness of our community’s children.

The ‘Leave your Mark on A Heart’ campaign for January invites businesses or any group of people to have fun, leave their mark in support of children and be part of one of the worlds largest collections of finger prints. Let’s get together and take a stand for our children.

All donations go directly to Winston’s Wish and their work in supporting bereaved children. Everything within the ‘i leave my mark’project, including this website, has been donated – time, skills, resources, smiles and kindness, to ensure that every penny goes to the cause you support with your donation, and mark.

Examples of groups you might be a member of include a yoga/fitness group, work colleagues, a shared interest group, the street you live in, NCT, playgroups or child focussed groups, clubs and associations or a group of friends or family. Its easy to get involved and make a big difference. Here’s how:

Send us an email requesting your ‘Leave a mark on a heart’

We will send you a poster, the ‘i leave my mark’ heart, and a collection box if needed

Ask your friends, colleagues, family or people in your group/commumity/street to donate a £ and leave their mark. It’s simple.

Make your donation you collected through Just Giving – I leave my mark with the name of your group or company

Your marks on a heart will be displayed at the end of the Fringe Festival in May in one of the world’s largest collections of fingerprints, a representation of our commitment as a community to the future of our children.

Salsa Santuary, a special event held by ‘Salsa Julia’ in Wivilsfield on Wednesday, raised a further £470 for child bereavement charity Winston’s Wish. This brings the current totol to £2013 with every penny going directly to the charity!

Thank you Julia for inviting ‘i leave my mark’ and kindly donating the proceeds to Winston’s Wish; and to all the ‘salseros’ who left their mark and supported the event. Julia, your a star!

Julia holds salsa lessons, courses, workshops and parties for all levels of salsa dancer in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere in Sussex. Visit www.salsajulia.com for more information.

A huge thank you to all you Boxing Day strollers along Hove Seafront yesterday for supporting Winston’s Wish and leaving your mark in beach hut 44. You helped to raise £1003.07 to help support bereaved children.

It was very special to spend a sunny Boxing Day with a wonderful team of people who gave up part of their holidays to make this happen. Thank you!

At 4pm and blessed with an amazing sun set, this is how it ended when the last person left their mark and took our photo.